Америкалық футболшы Джордж Поуптың карьерасы

American soccer player

George Edward Pope (born December 24, 1973) is an American former soccer player who last played for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer and spent eleven years as a defender for the United States national team. He spent most of his career playing for D. C. United. Pope is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Born in High Point, North Carolina, Pope attended Southwest Guilford High School. Pope had a very successful career playing for the North Carolina Tar Heels where he also kicked for Mack Brown's football team. In 1994, he was a first team All American, and also earned All ACC and All South Region honors.

In 1996, D. C. United selected Pope in the first round (second overall) in the MLS College Draft. His first season in Washington, D. C. was split between United and the men's Olympic team, which was preparing for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

Pope began his international career with the United States men's national soccer team on November 10, 1996, in a World Cup qualifier against Trinidad and Tobago. At the time, he was in his rookie season with D. C. United. He quickly became a fixture for the national team, which surprised the world when it defeated Brazil 1 0 and made its way to the finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Pope also played in two games for the disappointing U. S. campaign at the 1998 FIFA World Cup. In 2002, he started all five U. S. matches in the World Cup, and played a big part in the surprising success of the United States in that tournament. In 2006, Pope was part of the U. S. team that participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In the second match against Italy, he received a red card which caused him to miss the third match against Ghana, the last of his team at the tournament. Pope started every game he played with the national team. On August 3, 2006, Pope announced his retirement from international soccer. His international career included 82 caps and 8 goals over an eleven year period.

Pope served as the director of player relations for the MLS Players Union following his playing retirement. In 2015, Pope left the MLS Players Union to work at the Octagon sports agency. In 2022, Pope was named as sporting director of the newly founded MLS Next Pro club Carolina Core FC, to begin play in 2024. The club is based in his hometown of High Point, North Carolina.

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals U. S. League Open Cup League Cup North America Total1996D. C. UnitedMajor League Soccer1821161002551997293005000343199820100600026119991910060002512000210100000220200119031000022120021710000001702003MetroStars20042200026220042201020002502005Real Salt Lake20100000020120062200000002202007271000000271 Total U. S.254101042710029115 Career total254101042710029115